A roundup of new and noteworthy insights from the week’s most talked-about studies:
1 TEEN BIRTH RATES ARE AT AN ALL-TIME LOW
The number of U.S. births in 2016 by mothers ages 15 to 19 declined by 9% from the previous year to 20.3 births per 1,000 teen women, the lowest rate ever recorded, according to the CDC.
2 PETS IN AMERICA ARE GETTING FATTER
About one-third of all cats and dogs in the U.S. are too heavy, according to a new report from the Banfield Pet Hospital, which found that over the past decade the number of overweight cats has jumped by 169% and the number of overweight dogs has risen by 158%.
3 PEOPLE ARE LESS HELPFUL WHEN IT’S HOT
Research in the European Journal of Social Psychology found that people are less service-minded in uncomfortably hot spaces. In one of the study’s scenarios, retail employees were 50% less likely to engage in behavior like offering to help customers when the stores were hot.
–J.Z.
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Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com